(Cricket news) It has been a decent start for India in this T20 World Cup. Their opening game against Pakistan was a thrilling victory. The win was thanks to the individual effort of Virat Kohli but the rest of the team's performance was a little underwhelming. The next game against Netherlands was a comfortable 56 run victory. India then lost to South Africa by 5 wickets with 2 balls to spare in what was an disastrous batting performance from everyone apart from Suryakumar Yadav. Coming into this tournament the bowling was always going to be a worry but as of now it is the batting that is letting the men in blue down. Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have played really well but the rest of the batters have failed to make a significant impact.
A lot of focus has been on the form of KL Rahul and rightly so. The Indian vice captain has faced only 34 balls in 3 matches and has scored 22 runs. Rahul wasn't in particularly good form coming into this tournament but the team has backed him and the likelihood is that he still keeps his place in the side. However, if he fails to score in the next two games and India qualify for the semi finals then the management would have no option but to replace him. The obvious option would be to promote Virat Kohli to the top with both Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik in the middle order.
Against South Africa, India replaced Axar Patel with Deepak Hooda to strengthen their batting. Hooda can bowl a bit but he isn't as potent as Axar, the fact that he wasn't even given a single over is a different issue. The other problem with the move is that it leaves India with no left handed batter. The importance of a left hander in T20 cricket is massive as every single successful team has at least one left hander in their side. India have Rishabh Pant in the squad but he hasn't played a single match in this tournament as Dinesh Karthik has been chosen to don the gloves.
Dinesh Karthik walked off the field after suffering an injury in the last game and his availability for the match against Bangladesh is in doubt. This might be a blessing in disguise as India could use Rishabh Pant while batting. Dinesh Karthik is the finisher of the side but that role can be played by Pant and Hardik Pandya. On top of that Karthik's performance with the bat hasn't been that great in the two games he has got the chance. Pant can accelerate things when needed in middle order much like Suryakumar Yadav but Pant is a left hander which is an added benefit.
The other problem has been bowling in the middle overs which has been not up to the mark. Yuzvendra Chahal hasn't played a single game so far as Ravichandran Ashwin is being prefered. The reason for that could be the batting and not the bowling. The management clearly feels a need to have someone who can bat at number 8. Before it use to be Harshal Patel but now that he is on the bench, India are picking Ashwin ahead of Chahal. It has worked so far from the batting sense but the bowling has suffered. Chahal's wrist spin in the middle overs in the big grounds could be potent and India need to take the risk. India are still in a good position to qualify for the semi finals as they just need to beat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Also read: South Africa beat India in a low scoring thriller by 5 wickets
